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Friday, December 19, 2014

BORN TO DIE

by John MacArthur
That first Christmas, earth was oblivious to the significance of a
simple birth in a quiet town. But heaven wasn’t. The holy angels waited
in anticipation to break forth in praise and worship and adoration at
the birth of the newborn Christ. This Child’s birth meant deliverance
for mankind. The angel told Joseph: “He will save His people from their
sins” (Matthew 1:21).
Unlike Isaac, who ascended the mountain unaware he was to be the
sacrifice, Jesus descended from heaven in full awareness of what the
Father had in store for Him. Scripture records for us what may have been
a farewell message Jesus gave just prior to His incarnation.

When He comes into the world, He says, “Sacrifice and offering You
have not desired, but a body You have prepared for Me; in whole burnt
offerings and sacrifices for sin You have taken no pleasure.” Then I
said, “Behold, I have come . . . to do Your will, O God.” (Hebrews 10:5-7)

That passage of Scripture gives us a remarkable look at the heart of
the Savior before His birth. He knew He was entering the world to be the
final and ultimate sacrifice for sin. His body had been divinely
prepared by God specifically for that purpose. Jesus was going to die
for the sins of the world, and He knew it. Moreover, He was doing it
willingly. That was the whole point of the incarnation.
The important issue of Christmas is not so much that Jesus came, but why
He came. There was no salvation in His birth. Nor did the sinless way
He lived His life have any redemptive force of its own. His example, as
flawless as it was, could not rescue men from their sins. Even His
teaching, the greatest truth ever revealed to man, could not save us
from our sins. There was a price to be paid for our sins. Someone had to
die. Only Jesus could do it.
Jesus came to earth, of course, to reveal God to mankind. He came to
teach truth. He came to fulfill the Law. He came to offer His kingdom.
He came to show us how to live. He came to reveal God’s love. He came to
bring peace. He came to heal the sick. He came to minister to the
needy.
But all those reasons are incidental to His ultimate purpose. He
could have done them all without being born as a human. He could have
simply appeared—like the angel of the Lord often did in the Old
Testament—and accomplished everything in the list above, without
actually becoming a man. But He had one more reason for coming: He came
to die.
Here’s a side to the Christmas story that isn’t often told: Those
soft little hands, fashioned by the Holy Spirit in Mary’s womb, were
made so that nails might be driven through them. Those baby feet, pink
and unable to walk, would one day stagger up a dusty hill to be nailed
to a cross. That sweet infant’s head with sparkling eyes and eager mouth
was formed so that someday men might force a crown of thorns onto it.
That tender body, warm and soft, wrapped in swaddling clothes, would one
day be ripped open by a spear.
Jesus was born to die.
Don’t think I’m trying to put a damper on your Christmas spirit. Far
from it—for Jesus’ death, though devised and carried out by men with
evil intentions, was in no sense a tragedy. In fact, it represents the
greatest victory over evil anyone has ever accomplished.
The author of Hebrews illustrates how the full story of His birth includes His sacrificial death:

But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the
angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with
glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for
everyone. For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things, and
through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect
the author of their salvation through sufferings. . . . Therefore, since
the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook
of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had
the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through
fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. (Hebrews 2:9-10, 14-15)

It’s appropriate to commemorate the birth of Christ. But don’t make
the mistake of leaving Him as a baby in a manger. Keep in mind that His
birth was just the first step in God’s glorious plan of redemption.
Remember that it’s the triumph of Christ’s sacrificial death that gives
meaning to His humble birth. You can’t truly celebrate one without the
other.
(Adapted from The Miracle of Christmas.)